Download the NHP App to make and cancel appointments, order your repeat prescription and view your medical record.

Bring a repeat prescription request into surgery.

Ask the chemist of your choice to order and collect the prescription on your behalf.

Please allow 48 hours, excluding weekends and Bank Holidays, for your request to be processed. If you order your prescription through a pharmacy please allow a further 48 hours for the pharmacy to process the prescription. Any problems please telephone the surgery.

RESCUE MEDICATION PACKS

We have been made aware of some inaccurate information circulating (especially on social media) regarding special ‘rescue packs’ of antibiotics and oral steroids for patients with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (or even for those who don’t have these conditions).

We would like to reassure you that patients who suffer with severe respiratory conditions already have these in place (along with the instructions how to use them). Oral steroids are powerful medicines and any decision to use them would need careful evaluation by a prescriber, usually a doctor or respiratory specialist nurse.

The current advice is please do not contact your GP practice for a rescue pack unless this is something that has been previously agreed and prescribed by your medical team. You should continue to manage your condition in the usual way and if you feel you have symptoms of COVID-19, go to https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 before doing anything else.

We are aware of increasing requests for inhalers from patients who haven’t had them for a significant period of time. There is a risk of supply problems if inhalers are issued to people who don’t currently need them. GP practices will need to review requests on an individual basis and will only prescribe where there is current clinical need for an inhaler. If your condition changes in future and your GP thinks you need an inhaler it will be prescribed for you at that point.

At the moment, inhaler prescriptions are also being limited to one of each type of inhaler in order to make sure that all patients who need one can get one.

You should continue to manage your conditions in the usual way and if you feel you have symptoms of COVID-19, go to https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19 or call 111 (online services should be used as a first choice) before doing anything else.

PAPERLESS PRESCRIPTIONS

Nominate your pharmacy NOW before it is too late!

On the 31st March Churchside Medical Practice ‘GO LIVE’with Total Electronic Prescribing.

This means that the majority of prescriptions will be sent electronically and you will no longer be given a prescription in your hand. This is a mandatory requirement by NHS England which will save GP’s time and help the environment by saving paper.

What You Need To Do

Nominate a pharmacy of your choice now by informing reception

Make sure you give at least 48 hours’ notice for a prescription. (We will no longer be able to issue emergency prescriptions whilst you wait. If you require an emergency prescription you will need to collect it from the pharmacy of your choice towards the end of the working day).

If you choose not to nominate a pharmacy your prescription will be sent electronically to the NHS Spine and you will need to collect a Prescription Token from the practice which will include a unique barcode. This token will then need to be taken to a pharmacy of your choice where they will scan the barcode in order to retrieve the prescription from the NHS Spine to dispense.

Patients can find more information about the electronic Prescribing Service at www.nhs.uk/EPS